Oh, For Heaven's Sake

[little_bopeep]

I just saw on the news where a school district in Mass. (not sure if it's the whole state or not) has banned playground games of tag, touch football, and any game where children chase each other. The reporter said that fear of a lawsuit may have brought about the ban.

Where do the kids go to get fitted for their protective bubbles? :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

[sab1976]

So ridiculous!

I also just read an article about how the length of P.E. classes are getting shorter and shorter. What a shame.

[RunnerKim]

That's true in places on this side of the country too. I believe our local school district is removing swings from the playgrounds as well. Let's just give kids video games for recess. :rolleyes:

Kim

[Wendy w]

Last week, an article was published saying that Dr.'s believed in more playtime for kids.

Not having kids, I may not be qualified to say anything but...where is the happy medium?? I mean that I'm glad that some schools no longer have the kids play dodge or prison ball as I used to dread it because some of the boys used to throw the ball too hard and it would hurt. On one hand there's the concern of child obesity issue and then they take away the physical activity. Go figure.

[Curiosity Hears]

They outlawed it here in Riverside County years ago. Just think there are law suites behind these decisions. Think the kids miss much with this. On one hand we say they need more exercise then on the other we say that is too dangerous. What mixed signals that are being sent. :rolleyes:

[karen w]

So if we are taking away all of these things from our kids, what chance are they going to have to fight childhood obesity! :mad: My 5th grader gets a whole whopping 5 min. for recess. If he inhales his lunch in 20 min., he might get 10 min. on a rare occasion. How sad.

Karen

[Robyncz]

Well, maybe if Americans would stop suing everyone for everything, things would be different. I'm certainly not defending the district's decision, but I can understand where they're coming from. . .

We're living in strange times!

[Wendy w]

They outlawed it here in Riverside County years ago. Just think there are law suites behind these decisions. Think the kids miss much with this. On one hand we say they need more exercise then on the other we say that is too dangerous. What mixed signals that are being sent. :rolleyes:

I live in OC and didn't know that.

We really do live in strange times. The other day, my friend's little niece wanted to ride in the very back of her PT cruiser. We let her know of all the things we used to do in another era that we cannot do now.

[Canice]

...like riding in the "well" of a VW Beetle? :eek: You AND your friend together? :eek: :eek:

[Wendy w]

...like riding in the "well" of a VW Beetle? :eek: You AND your friend together? :eek: :eek:

I never did that, but did ride in the back of a pickup truck going over 100 mph. I was crazy when I was young. :eek:

We were told her about when we didn't have seatbelts, rode our bikes without helmets, could ride on Dad's lap while he drove, no carseats. We didn't advocate this behavior because she's only 7, just told her how times had changed.

[momqat]

Well, according to the article in the Boston Globe (http://www.boston.com/news/odd/articles/2006/10/18/not_it_mass_elementary_school_bans_tag/), it just deals with "unsupervised chase game[s] during recess", not supervised gym classes, if that makes any difference at all...

I have seen things get a little carried away at times on the playground, so I'm not totally surprised this is happening.

[Canice]

Remember "tether ball" the passive-aggressive girls' game of choice at recess? :rolleyes:

[Cookin4Love]

No doubt this is due to lawsuits or threats of lawsuits. While I agree that it is great to give kids recess time, rough play is resulting in more and more problems. There are the ubiquitous lawsuits, for one. After all, is anything an accident any more? No matter what happens, there has to be someone to blame, it seems.

Second, with the awareness of bullying, what used to be dodgeball or flag football or basketball is now cause for a parent to come in with all guns blazing (figuratively speaking, of course) to yell and scream at an administrator about how their kid is being bullied. It's the new buzz word. They just don't understand, it seems, the difference is bullying and kids being kids. For the record, I'm a strong anti-bullying advocate, and don't tolerate bullying at my school. However, when you trip someone and they pinch you back, that's not bullying. It's a discipline issue, but not bullying.

Third, it really isn't the school's responsibility to provide all the physical activity time every child needs. Academic accountability is higher than ever, and it keeps increasing. I believe it is the parents' responsibility to provide enough unscheduled time that their kids can play. Bike with them, hike with them, walk around the block...and hey, let the kids chase each other in your backyard. ;) (And I'm using the global YOU here, not anyone in particular on these board.)

If you wonder why a school does something, look at two issues: student safety and student learning. If you can figure out how the decision contributes to one of those, you have your answer.

[Kathy B]

Well, maybe if Americans would stop suing everyone for everything, things would be different. I'm certainly not defending the district's decision, but I can understand where they're coming from. . .



Which is probably also why kids don't shower after PE anymore. I can't imagine having to go to PE in the morning and play soccer or run the mile or do any of the other things they do, then go to class without showering. But that is exactly what they do, and I think it HAS to be related to avoiding potential lawsuits. :(

[stefania4]

Well, according to the article in the Boston Globe (http://www.boston.com/news/odd/articles/2006/10/18/not_it_mass_elementary_school_bans_tag/), it just deals with "unsupervised chase game[s] during recess", not supervised gym classes, if that makes any difference at all...

Sounds to me like in ten years I'm going to have a bunch of new-hires who don't know how to handle minor conflict in the office and are going to expect me to get involved when a co-worker doesn't return a stapler...

[lindrusso]

Removing swings?????? :eek:

Oh, I just hate where all this stuff is heading. And it's not just on the playground.

Let's protect our kids fragile egos by not having any winners and eliminating all competition. We wouldn't want to bruise anyone's self esteem. I read about a school in our area that want's to eliminate grades for the 5th and 6th graders and go with checks, pluses and minuses. :rolleyes:

In the lunchroom, let's protect the small minority of kids with allergies by banning foods like peanut butter.

Then, when they get to go out and play - if they are lucky enough to have recess - let's make sure that all they can do is stand around on the blacktop. :rolleyes: Heaven forbid someone should skin a knee.

Doesn't someone at some point have to stand up to these lawsuit happy people and just say no? I know that's far easier said than done, but do we really let the lawsuit happy dictate what everyone can or can't do in every aspect of our lives?

Government interferes enough as it is, now we're letting every hypersensitive, overprotective parent dictate what happens in our schools too.

And what will we have in the end? A bunch of kids who cannot handle even the slightest conflict, pain, challenge or hardship when they enter the real world because of this totally unrealistic bubble we've had them living in.

It just makes me so mad! :(

[Robyncz]

In the lunchroom, let's protect the small minority of kids with allergies by banning foods like peanut butter.



While I agree with most of your points, I couldn't disagree more on this. Many kids with peanut allergies (the number is growing, and they don't seem to know why), don't simply break out in hive and itch the rest of the day. If they come into contact with peanut products, they can go into respiratory shock (I can't spell anaphylactic) and die. And some of them don't even have to ingest the peanut products--they get sick if they inhale or have skin contact with them.So, honestly, if there's a kid in your kid's class who could DIE from peanuts, I don't see what the big deal is about coming up with some lunch solutions that don't include peanut products. When the kids are in middle school and high school, I would agree that kids with food allergies should be able to make choices to protect themselves, but in elementary school, I'm perfectly fine with a class or even an entire school not allowing peanut products. My kids can eat their peanut butter at home. . .

[LA98]

In the lunchroom, let's protect the small minority of kids with allergies by banning foods like peanut butter.

I would consider this a very different issue: Children with serious peanut (or other food) allergies can DIE from coming in contact with it. I'm happy to send my son to school with some other kind of sandwich if it means keeping someone else's child safe.

[lindrusso]

Well, okay, I might give on the peanut butter thing.........death is obviously more serious than a skinned knee...........

But I see parents taking this beyond cases of severe reactions and not wanting any allergen in the immediate vicinity even if it only makes their kids a little stuffy.

[stefania4]

But I see parents taking this beyond cases of severe reactions and not wanting any allergen in the immediate vicinity even if it only makes their kids a little stuffy.
My mother mentioned this last week. Apparently some parent wants the elementary school not to mow the lawn during the week because of their child's hayfever. My mother commented that, after the first 2 or 3 times I was sent home with allergy attacks during lawn-mowing she just called the school to find out when it would be done and kept me home. It's a lot more expensive for the school to hire weekend help, and she would have never asked them to change their schedules just to accommodate me. And the kid who was allergic to bees simply went to the library during recess if someone spotted a hive; we didn't all lose our outdoor recess privileges.

[lindrusso]

My mother mentioned this last week. Apparently some parent wants the elementary school not to mow the lawn during the week because of their child's hayfever.

Yep, that's exactly what I was afraid of. :rolleyes:

And you can see where this goes next. Sally stays in for recess because her allergies are so bad. But then Sally feels sad that the other kids get to go out and play and she doesn't. Next thing you know the rest of the kids have to stay in too so that Sally doesn't have to feel bad and suffer from low self-esteem.

Yes, allergies can be miserable - my son has them and we deal with it. But put your own child in a plastic bubble if you want to, don't inflict the plastic bubble on everyone else.

[stefania4]

Yes, allergies can be miserable - my son has them and we deal with it. But put your own child in a plastic bubble if you want to, don't inflict the plastic bubble on everyone else.
Or just do what my Mom did, which is load the kid up on so many allergy meds they don't know up from down, anyway. :p

Seriously, I had about the worst pollen allergies anyone had ever seen (as my ENT keeps reminding me). We had two or three diabetic kids and one with a back brace and a few with food allergies, and I/they simply avoided the things that would cause a problem. The ONLY time I remember a special request that affected everyone was, unfortunately, on my behalf. A few kids had brought in spring flowers from their gardens, and I had to be sent home. After that no one in my class (not the school, just my classroom) couldn't bring in flowers anymore, not that they did that very often anyway.

[SDMomChef]

Remember "tether ball" the passive-aggressive girls' game of choice at recess? :rolleyes:

Oh No - my DD 1st grader just "discovered" tether ball - next stop the psychologist! :D

[sugarbaby]

Removing swings?????? :eek:

Oh, I just hate where all this stuff is heading. And it's not just on the playground.

Let's protect our kids fragile egos by not having any winners and eliminating all competition. We wouldn't want to bruise anyone's self esteem. I read about a school in our area that want's to eliminate grades for the 5th and 6th graders and go with checks, pluses and minuses. :rolleyes:

In the lunchroom, let's protect the small minority of kids with allergies by banning foods like peanut butter.

Then, when they get to go out and play - if they are lucky enough to have recess - let's make sure that all they can do is stand around on the blacktop. :rolleyes: Heaven forbid someone should skin a knee.

Doesn't someone at some point have to stand up to these lawsuit happy people and just say no? I know that's far easier said than done, but do we really let the lawsuit happy dictate what everyone can or can't do in every aspect of our lives?

Government interferes enough as it is, now we're letting every hypersensitive, overprotective parent dictate what happens in our schools too.

And what will we have in the end? A bunch of kids who cannot handle even the slightest conflict, pain, challenge or hardship when they enter the real world because of this totally unrealistic bubble we've had them living in.

It just makes me so mad! :(

BRAVO! As a teacher who finds herself more and more doing the job of parents and following bull crap government interventions, I couldn't agree more (except for the death by peanut allergy thing). It makes me so angry.

At the middle school where I used to teach, students were not allowed to bring balloons or gifts to school for their friends birthdays or, if they did, they had to leave them in the office. Was this because balloons in the classroom would distract students? NO! Parents got together and pressured the admin. to ban it because they didn't want students whose friends didn't bring them balloons to feel bad. Makes me want to cuss.

[Wendy w]

At the middle school where I used to teach, students were not allowed to bring balloons or gifts to school for their friends birthdays or, if they did, they had to leave them in the office. Was this because balloons in the classroom would distract students? NO! Parents got together and pressured the admin. to ban it because they didn't want students whose friends didn't bring them balloons to feel bad. Makes me want to cuss.

Oh brother, this is ridiculous. :rolleyes:
A question for elementary school teachers: Are the kids still allowed to bring Valentine's to school and have Valentine's Day parties? Or has this been banned because someone's feelings may get hurt??

I know that some schools do not allow anything Halloween because it offends some religious people. What really bugs me is that my sister's (a 3rd grade teacher) school does not allow homemade treats, only store bought ones. :rolleyes: I can really see Cookin4love's point as she keeps telling me about how more and more is expected of teachers these days. The stories of some of the parents are truly amazing.

[boisewinesnob]

Let's protect our kids fragile egos by not having any winners and eliminating all competition. We wouldn't want to bruise anyone's self esteem. I read about a school in our area that want's to eliminate grades for the 5th and 6th graders and go with checks, pluses and minuses. :rolleyes:


Alysha, that's what I was thinking the ban on tag was really about. Because you know, it wouldn't be "fair" if one kid is faster than the others and never has to be "it" :rolleyes: . We'd better make a rule to regulate this unfair game!! ;)


And sugarbaby, my DS who is now in college had a teacher in first grade who said the kids could not pass out invitations to birthday parties unless the whole class was invited :eek: . I don't think this was a school-wide rule as he went to K and 2nd grade there and those teachers never said anything about that.

[tbb113]

Oh brother, this is ridiculous. :rolleyes:
A question for elementary school teachers: Are the kids still allowed to bring Valentine's to school and have Valentine's Day parties? Or has this been banned because someone's feelings may get hurt??

I know that some schools do not allow anything Halloween because it offends some religious people. What really bugs me is that my sister's (a 3rd grade teacher) school does not allow homemade treats, only store bought ones. :rolleyes: I can really see Cookin4love's point as she keeps telling me about how more and more is expected of teachers these days. The stories of some of the parents are truly amazing.

Here its up to the child if they bring Valentines...but you either need to bring for the entire class or for no one. You can't choose to just give them to your friends.

The homemade treats is usually done for allegry related reasons. It is funny though, my older son is on Varsity football and they have a carbo load before home games and a 5th quarter after the games. We are asked to ONLY provide homemade desserts since the boys don't like the packaged or store bought desserts as much.

I always wonder what our parents (collectively) did wrong that we managed to grow up to be such a sue-happy, pc-correct, self-esteem worried generation (I'm 47). I only hope that our kids swing the pendulum back the other way when they are parents

[Laura]

Here its up to the child if they bring Valentines...but you either need to bring for the entire class or for no one. You can't choose to just give them to your friends.


By the same token, I guess we shouldn't have homecoming or prom either, because not everyone is going to be asked, and only one person gets to be the king or queen.

I do find it interesting that none of the posters on this board are in agreement with what the schools are doing. We are a fairly well-rounded bunch from differents parts of the country, different religious and political viewpoints.

The question is then, exactly who are these school districts catering to in making these decisions?

[tbb113]

By the same token, I guess we shouldn't have homecoming or prom either, because not everyone is going to be asked, and only one person gets to be the king or queen.



You don't need a date to go to any of the dances (including homecoming and prom/senior ball) at my sons' high schools. Many of the kids go by themselves or with a group of friends.

Also, there is at least one sport each season that is no cut (football, cross-country, wrestling, track and field for sure and I'm sure that there are others that I'm not aware off). The coaches don't promise you playing time in football, but at least you can attend the practices and dress for the games and say "I'm on the team". Freshman football is huge (85 players this year), JV gets less players, Varsity Juniors have less and by the time you are a Senior Varsity Player, there are even less players

[lindrusso]

The question is then, exactly who are these school districts catering to in making these decisions?

A select few who piss, moan, and threaten until someone finally gives in.

Our school is contemplating forbidding homemade treats too, for allergy reasons. The thinking is that the store-bought goods have the ingredients lists and can be easily checked for possible allergens. Several of the parents expressed that they would be more than happy to provide a list of ingredients with homemade treats to accomodate those with allergies.

It's very ironic though. At the same time that schools are beginning to ban certain food items for nutrition reasons (cupcakes and such), they are requiring snacks to be store-bought instead of homemade - which usually means more additives, preservatives, trans-fats and other junk.

***Instead of teaching our kids to creatively and constructively deal with things that might make them a little different or maybe even a little uncomfortable or a little inconvenienced, we're instead asking everyone else to make changes and inconvenience themselves. It just doesn't make any sense.***

[Laura]

You don't need a date to go to any of the dances (including homecoming and prom/senior ball) at my sons' high schools. Many of the kids go by themselves or with a group of friends.

Also, there is at least one sport each season that is no cut (football, cross-country, wrestling, track and field for sure and I'm sure that there are others that I'm not aware off). The coaches don't promise you playing time in football, but at least you can attend the practices and dress for the games and say "I'm on the team". Freshman football is huge (85 players this year), JV gets less players, Varsity Juniors have less and by the time you are a Senior Varsity Player, there are even less players


No, I understand that, my comment about canceling homecoming was tongue in cheek, and I may have not made myself clear; there are a number of things at school or in life for that matter, that can make you feel singled out, not as good as someone else, whatever. That doesn't mean that the school you stop having those activities/events. It is different for guys, but believe me, when your daughter doesn't get asked to homecoming it is a huge deal. That doesn't meant that they should still cancel homecoming.

Not everyone is meant to be an athlete. Heck I wasn't. I was often picked as one of the last ones for sports needing hand-eye coordination. But I don't think we need to have no-cut teams, or not recognize those on the honor roll, or the first chair members in the band, etc. just because doing so will make someone who didn't make it feel bad.

I think I am making myself less clear as I write this, so perhaps should I should stop now.

[tbb113]

I know what you meant Laura. I was just pointing out that there are ways to make dances and athletics available to everybody without worrying about people's feelings.

If you want to go to a dance and you don't have a date, you should be able to. If you want to do some form of athletics (without being an athlete), you should be able to. I agree with the coaches that they don't promise playing time...I think Michael played 5 minutes total last year as a Junior...this year he is a starting player. The coaches make it very clear that their first priority is to win the district championship not to play the kids on the team.

Because of poor choices, the JV team just had 4 players permanently kicked off the team, all 4 of them are suspended and one is facing explusion. It is possible that criminal charges will be filed as well. I think it is great that the administration is doing something about it and not worrying about the perps motives and self esteem (it was basically a hazing incident)

[ErinM]

As I read this, I just shake my head in sadness. Makes me glad I grew up when I did.

This does, though remind me of this movie...Harrison Bergeron (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113264/) It's a a movie starring Sean Astin, and it depicts what could happen if this "equalizing" of everything was taken to extremes. I enjoyed the movie and it really makes you think of how horrible life would be if we truly lived in a society where this was the norm.

[leebee]

On a related note, my babysitter, who has a service dog (certified & licensed as such), just called her granddaughter's school. They are having a program on Friday that she is attending, and she called to make arrangements for an unobtrusive place to sit so A. she could get to the seat easily w/ the dog (and two kids in tow) and B. not be too much of a distraction to the kids in general. She was told by the school secretary that she would not be permitted because there is carpeting in the gym (where the event is) and there might be kids with allergies.

Oh, and when I was in elementary school (in the Dark Ages, 30+ years ago--this is coming up a lot lately), we had to bring Valentines for the whole class, and if we had party invites for just a specific group of kids, they had to be turned in to the office to be distributed, so other kids wouldn't feel excluded. But then we got to work out our aggression playing dodge ball and tag anyway, so it would have been okay either way. FWIW, my son's school does currently permit peanut products, but a few years ago a child with a severe allergy did cause peanut lockdown.

[hlao23]

As I read this, I just shake my head in sadness. Makes me glad I grew up when I did.

This does, though remind me of this movie...Harrison Bergeron (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113264/) It's a a movie starring Sean Astin, and it depicts what could happen if this "equalizing" of everything was taken to extremes. I enjoyed the movie and it really makes you think of how horrible life would be if we truly lived in a society where this was the norm.

Oh! I didn't know there was a movie! Here's a link to the short story if anyone is interested. I remember reading it in Junior High http://instruct.westvalley.edu/lafave/hb.html

[Clover]

And sugarbaby, my DS who is now in college had a teacher in first grade who said the kids could not pass out invitations to birthday parties unless the whole class was invited :eek: . I don't think this was a school-wide rule as he went to K and 2nd grade there and those teachers never said anything about that.
I have to say that I wholeheartedly agree with that teacher. Whether you are a first-grader or an adult, to invite some people to a party in the presence of others that you are not inviting is rude precisely because it does hurt people's feelings. And it's not possible for a kid to do it so surreptitiously that the others won't know. I have no idea how my mother and the other kids' mothers found out the addresses of the invitees, but the whole time I was in elementary school, not one child ever passed out invitations in class. And we were also aware that talking about the party, before or after it happened, in front of non-invitees was hurtful. Since we didn't celebrate birthdays at school, there wasn't a big awareness of when other kids' birthdays were.

[Becky13347]

Everyone, I mean everyone, in this country, whether you have children or not needs to start paying attention to what is going on in our public schools today. It is unacceptable.....the things that are happening.

-No recess :mad:
-15 to 20 minute lunches (is racing through a meal good for you?)
-School lunches that provide nothing healthy, :mad: in my opinion junk foods shouldn't even be offered for sale...then the kids HAVE to eat something healthy or go hungry. They'll learn to eat healthy then!
-State mandated testing, so poorly assembled that they reflect little of what kids should really be learning as they go through school to prepare for college and real life :mad:
-Textbooks being bought/published and school districts purchasing them because they are scripted....teachers being expected to teach exactly the script. :mad: :mad: :mad: That way if the above mentioned state test scores are low...teachers can say, "it wasn't my fault, I read your script" Wow...no wonder kids don't want to be in school. Who wants to listen to someone read from a scripted, mass produced textbook all day long?
-Little to no gym, art, music, etc. :mad:
-Eliminating activities so no one has to "feel bad". :mad: Give me a break. Guess what? In life you're gonna feel bad. Better to teach skills on dealing with emotions than to deny emotions altogether.

Then the public has the nerve to demand why this country isn't producing better students? Why we have adults who think they are entitled to everything and anything with no work put in? Why we have a problem with obesity and all its health issues among our children?

No changes will ever happen while people are sitting around and not getting involved. Look around at your schools. Get involved and press for changes. It isn't going to go away by ignoring it with excuses.

Sorry....I am VERY frustrated by the schools, had an eye-opening week last week where I teach, and nearly pulled my children out of public school for home school when I heard things that were happening. This isn't just here...it is a U.S. problem. Don't shake your head in sadness, shake it in shame and embarassment. I strongly urge you to get invloved for change.

[leebee]

I'd like to give a shout out to my son's school. It's a little school, he's only in K, and I'm sure we'll run into issues, but:

He has gym twice a week (goes to school 3 days/week) and two substantial recess breaks (one is 20 mins, the other is 10-20, depending on how fast he eats, which isn't very). Their once-weekly music class is very movement-oriented right now. They are already covering healthy habits (food, exercise, etc.). The school had a major fund-raiser last month, which was an obstacle-course fun-run that the kids collected pledges for (we just wrote a check--and even if the kids didn't bring in any money, they got to participate). Their cafeteria features locally-grown produce in its lunches, and I have to say I'm pleased with what they've offered so far. Yes, there were chicken nuggets one day, but they also had bean and rice burritos and baked chicken and squash (which apparently was "good, but not as good as Mommy's"). When a child does something good, they are commended. My son was so excited to tell his teacher that he counted all the way to 139 last week, and he told me that she featured him at show & tell and they counted to 200 together. Their projects are creative and give him opportunity to explore different ideas--he has occasional "home work" which he is able to work on with some guidence from us, but some autonomy to express things how he wants to. They even made applesauce last week. He feels so good about school. And they are (so far) exceeding my expectations. I have already had the opportunity to speak to his teacher three times (she calls in the evening when she is home), once to set up a conference and twice just to touch base. Our PTO has "mentors" to help new families navigate the school experience, and the principal is scheduling regular meeting times to have interested parents come to school to discuss issues. This is not the "big money" school in the district. It's not the largest or highest-profile. But I really feel like they do care about educating our children. They've set a high standard in these first two months of my son's schooling, and I hope they continue. Oh, and test scores are (mostly) above the norm for the district. Some slight dip in science scores, but we take care of a lot of that at home already.

I just wanted to point out that there ARE good (and great) schools out there. Not all public schools are failing!

[boisewinesnob]

I have to say that I wholeheartedly agree with that teacher. Whether you are a first-grader or an adult, to invite some people to a party in the presence of others that you are not inviting is rude precisely because it does hurt people's feelings. And it's not possible for a kid to do it so surreptitiously that the others won't know. I have no idea how my mother and the other kids' mothers found out the addresses of the invitees, but the whole time I was in elementary school, not one child ever passed out invitations in class. And we were also aware that talking about the party, before or after it happened, in front of non-invitees was hurtful. Since we didn't celebrate birthdays at school, there wasn't a big awareness of when other kids' birthdays were.

Well, I guess each teacher can certainly make whatever rules he/she wants to, but when I was a kid I remember not being invited to birthday parties and never thought twice about it. I don't think the school should regulate who is friends with who. My friends invited me to their parties and the kids I did not hang around with didn't invite me to theirs; as simple as that. I don't remember any hurt feelings, but then maybe I just am not the type to get upset about stuff like that.
Although I do think when it is a class party like Valentines then kids should either give to everybody or not at all. I am talking about a private party at someone's home. I should not have to invite every kid, sorry. If the school wants to hide it by going through the office, then whatever :)

[Clover]

Well, I guess each teacher can certainly make whatever rules he/she wants to, but when I was a kid I remember not being invited to birthday parties and never thought twice about it. I don't think the school should regulate who is friends with who. My friends invited me to their parties and the kids I did not hang around with didn't invite me to theirs; as simple as that. I don't remember any hurt feelings, but then maybe I just am not the type to get upset about stuff like that.
Although I do think when it is a class party like Valentines then kids should either give to everybody or not at all. I am talking about a private party at someone's home. I should not have to invite every kid, sorry. If the school wants to hide it by going through the office, then whatever :)
Oh, I don't mean that there is any obligation to invite the whole class. In fact, I wouldn't dream of it. It's fine to pick and choose. I think it's perfectly OK not to invite little Tiffany, but not to invite other people in front of her. As I said before, the issue to me is handing out invitations in the presence of people you're not inviting. Adults or children.

I'm pretty sure the tag ban is because of parents suing when kids get hurt.

What's wrong with tether ball?

[momqat]

Another district in MA (a neighboring town of mine) was in the news this AM because they also ban "contact" tag -- this article (http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=143265) is from today's local rag.

A quote from the article: "If the hands come out to touch, then the supervisors ask them to stop," McCarthy Principal Joan Vodoklys said. "What we require is that children do not touch each other."

[lindrusso]

A quote from the article: "If the hands come out to touch, then the supervisors ask them to stop," McCarthy Principal Joan Vodoklys said. "What we require is that children do not touch each other."

Uh, how do you tag someone if you can't touch them. They never quite explain that in the article......... :rolleyes:

Blow on them? Kick dirt on them? Tag them with your eyes?

Actually, I really was interested in what the kids came up with to replace actually tagging someone.........

[momqat]

Uh, how do you tag someone if you can't touch them. They never quite explain that in the article......... :rolleyes:

Blow on them? Kick dirt on them? Tag them with your eyes?

Actually, I really was interested in what the kids came up with to replace actually tagging someone.........
So was I -- I'll have to ask around and see if anyone can clarify. All the teachers I knew who taught in that district have retired in the past few years...

[Kathy B]

Well, I guess each teacher can certainly make whatever rules he/she wants to, but when I was a kid I remember not being invited to birthday parties and never thought twice about it. I don't think the school should regulate who is friends with who. My friends invited me to their parties and the kids I did not hang around with didn't invite me to theirs; as simple as that. I don't remember any hurt feelings, but then maybe I just am not the type to get upset about stuff like that.


Well it's one thing not to get an invitation or valentine or whatever from someone you don't know well, and it's something else when someone who doesn't like you for whatever reasons hands invitations to everyone around you, but skips YOU! It's just mean, it DOES happen, and there is no reason for it.

Most classes have one or two kids who are not very popular, and I'm sure being in that situation is hard enough without giving the other students more opportunities to leave them out. You don't have to invite everyone in the class, but what is the problem with mailing invitations, dropping them by the house, calling, emailing or any other means of delivery? Why is it necessary to deliver them at school if only some of the kids are invited anyway?